The biggest synopsis mistake that writers make
I see hundreds of treatments and synopses and most have clearly been slaved over by their writers, but there are still half a dozen major mistakes that sabotage them, no matter how good they are…
Use the Bake Off rule to improve your scripts
Bake Off is back. But is there something we can learn from the series’ success? Aside from how to bake a better cup-cake. What is it that makes Bake Off so successful? It’s clearly not complexity of plot.…
The Story of Structure: Creating Story Legs part 2
The concluding part from guest blogger Yvonne Grace on story structure for TV series and serials, Creating Story Legs. Yvonne is an experienced writer, script editor and producer of TV series and serials, and the…
The Structure of Story. Creating Story Legs Part 1
Today we have the first of a fascinating two-part post by guest blogger Yvonne Grace on story structure for TV series and serials, Creating Story Legs. Yvonne is an experienced writer, script editor and producer…
What the World Cup taught me about screenwriting
I have to confess: much of what I know about life, let alone screenwriting, has come from football, and in particular the World Cup. There, I’ve said it. Feel free to shun me and pass…
Five things they don’t tell you about screenplay structure
There’s a great deal of hot air talked about screenplay structure – much more than about any other area of screenwriting – and most of it entirely misses the point. It’s great fun for the…
How to land a top star and the BBC with one treatment
Most people hate writing treatments. Not me, I love them. This is how I used a treatment to hook a top star comedian and the BBC in just five pages – and how you can too.
A Clever, Sneaky Way To Hide Exposition
The ability to handle exposition really sorts the professionals from the wannabes, and I’m going to share one of my top exposition techniques with you here.
Write as a Professional
I’m busy planning the Euroscript Professional Screenwriting Mini-Summer School (June 24-26), which is devoted to helping TV and cinema screenwriters develop their skills to a higher professional level – and I’ve been asking myself: what is it that makes the difference between a professional script and one that isn’t?
Canaletto, Gaugin, Cezanne, Dickens and Screenwriting
I managed to get to three of the biggest exhibitions in town this January – Canaletto, Gaugin, Cezanne – and took time off to read a great novel. It wasn’t easy. There’s always a reason…
Wave Your Wooden Leg
Here’s a screenwriting tip that will make your life so much easier. And before I get to it, just a word about difficulty. Many screenwriting books seem to want to make screenwriting hard – and…
The 21st Century Screenplay
One of my all-time favourite screenwriting books has been Linda Aronson’s Screenwriting Updated – and now she’s updated it! The 21st Century Screenplay adds 50% more. The breadth is enormous – from the psychology of…
Write treatments with style
I’ve written before that good screenwriters often get tangled up writing treatments. One major reason is that they are simply using the wrong style.
A surprising way to become a Great Writer
What is it that makes a great writer great? What can we learn from them and hope to emulate? OK, it’s that time of year and maybe the heat’s got to me, but I’m starting a list – my Top Ten Attributes displayed by the greatest writers – those I admire and honour. I don’t mean that they use or don’t use adverbs or three act structure. This is much more personal. And like every list it is totally fallible and biased and mainly intended to annoy, irritate and make people foam at the mouth.
How to create a great structure – and avoid the decoration
Don’t get hung up on the Acts and Pinch Points, and don’t ignore them either. The structure of your script is how you tell your story in the most enthralling way…